Boulder Amplifiers 1012 DAC Preamplifier manual

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Boulder 1012 DAC Pr eamplifier Owners Manual 10/27/03 Boulder Amplifiers, Inc. 3235 Prairie A ve. Boulder , CO 80301 www .boulderamp.com APPENDIX RECORDING BOULDER LINK PROGRAMMING REMOTE CONTROL OPERA TION GETTING ST ARTED[...]

Boulder 1012 DAC Preamplifier Rear Panel[...]

T ABLE OF CONTENTS GETTING ST AR TED Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1 Quick Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1 Placement of the 1012 DAC [...]

REMOTE CONTROL Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1 Source Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2 V olume, Balance and Mute . . . . . . . . . . [...]

RECORDING Connecting a Recording Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1 APPENDIX Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1 Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [...]

GETTING ST AR TED INTRODUCTION Congratulations on your selection of the Boulder 1012 DAC Preamplifier . W e at Boulder Amplifiers are certain it will provide years of listening pleasure. QUICK ST AR T T o get started listening, you only need to connect the 1012 as you would any other preamplifier , but you should take note of the following. W ARNIN[...]

PLACEMENT OF THE 1012 DAC PREAMPLIFIER Y our Boulder 1012 DAC Pr eamplifier is designed to r educe the effects that external magnetic and radio fields (RF) have on its internal circuitry . While placement is not critical, known magnetic fields should be avoided. Line of sight fr om the listening position is necessary for the remote control to funct[...]

CONNECTING TO THE MAINS OUTLET Y our 1012 DAC Preamplifier is supplied with a mains cord suitable to the location where it was purchased. A label showing the exact voltage and frequency range is located on the rear panel. Make certain that the mains voltage used is with in the specifications shown. Also listed are the fuse ratings. There are two fu[...]

CONNECTING A DIGIT AL SOURCE There are four digital inputs to the DSP and D/A Converter section of the 1012. Three inputs ar e the AES/EBU style. Because of the balanced nature of these connections, it is the preferr ed method of connection and should be used whenever available. W ith the 1012, one DABL digital adapter is supplied and may be plugge[...]

POLARITY Please note that the 1012 DAC Pr eamplifier conforms to the standard of pin 2 as the high or hot pin for all analog balanced inputs and outputs. Because input and output polarities are handled through programming setups and the remote control, no concern for polarity is needed while connecting sour ces. Digital connectors have no polarity [...]

CONNECTING AN UNBALANCED ANALOG SOURCE Although the inputs are all of the 3 pin type, an unbalanced source is easily accommodated by using a special cable. This cable has an RCA phono type connector on the source end and a 3 pin connector for going to an input on the 1012 DAC Preamplifier . The minus input (pin 3) should be wired to ground only at [...]

CONNECTING A TURNT ABLE Balanced inputs are provided for connecting a turntable to the 1012. T o avoid hum pickup in the cabling, it is important to follow these instructions. Do not connect pin 1 (chassis/ground) to either pin 2 or 3 at any point in the cable, turntable chassis, or tonearm. Pins 2 and 3 must only connect directly to the cartridge [...]

1-8 PHONO CABLES CARTRIDGE 1012 PHONO INPUT TURNTABLE CHASSIS 3-POS INPUT 2-POS INPUT 1-POS INPUT CHASSIS CARTRIDGE 1012 PHONO INPUT TURNTABLE CHASSIS 3-POS INPUT 2-POS INPUT 1-POS INPUT CHASSIS CARTRIDGE 1012 PHONO INPUT TURNTABLE CHASSIS 3-POS INPUT 2-POS INPUT 1-POS INPUT CHASSIS N.C. GETTING ST ARTED[...]

CONNECTING TO A BALANCED INPUT AMPLIFIER W ith your 1012 DAC Pr eamplifier ’s balanced output driving a balanced input power amplifier , you can take sonic advantage of short speaker cables and correspondingly longer input cables. W ith the 1012’s low output impedance, distances of more than 50 meters between preamplifier and power amplifier ar[...]

CONNECTING TO AN UNBALANCED INPUT AMPLIFIER A special cable is requir ed to make this connection. This cable connects pin 1 to the shield and pin 2 to the center pin. It leaves the output pin 3 unconnected. Connecting the unused output pin (usually pin 3) to ground will cause excessive ground currents and degrade performance. Use an ohmmeter or con[...]

SETTING THE BOULDERLINK SWITCH Set the Boulderlink MASTER / SLA VE switch to MASTER. For more information on Boulderlink, see the Boulderlink section as indicated by the finger tabs below . GETTING ST ARTED 1-1 1[...]

OPERA TION POWERING UP W ith all your connections made, you ar e r eady to listen to your Boulder 1012 DAC Preamplifier . The power LED will cycle through a variety of colors indicating a standby mode. Power is applied only to the microprocessor during this mode. Press the POWER button to turn on the 1012. The indicator will change to amber and pow[...]

INPUT SELECTIONS T o select an analog input, press one of the ANALOG pushbuttons labeled ONE, TWO, THREE or PHONO. The respective input will be shown in the display and that signal will be r outed to both the main and recor d outputs. For example, if input ONE is chosen, “A1. ANALOG INPUT 1” will show in the display . NOTE : There will be a 1 s[...]

T o select a digital input, pr ess one of the DIGIT AL pushbuttons labeled ONE through FOUR. For a few seconds, the input sample rate of the source and the Upandoversampling™ rate out of the DSP will be shown. For example, a regular CD will show “INPUT RA TE 44.1kHz, OUTPUT RA TE 705.6kHz.” The “INPUT RA TE” is the rate at which the 1012 [...]

VOLUME Because the pr ecise feel of the Boulder 1012’s volume control may be differ ent than you ar e used to, we recommend starting the sour ce device so that an audio signal is fed to the 1012 before increasing the volume. The display will show “VOLUME INFINITE” to indicate maximum attenuation or no sound. By placing a finger at the edge of[...]

BALANCE T o change the level balance, press the BALANCE pushbutton. “BALANCE CENTERED” will show in the display . Now , rotating the control will change the balance instead of the volume for as long as “BALANCE...” is displayed. T urning the control counterclockwise (left) will cause an indication such as “BALANCE R -2.0dB < “ in the[...]

MUTE T o temporarily r educe the volume, press the MUTE pushbutton. “VOLUME MUTED” will show in the display , replacing the volume indication. Again pr essing the MUTE pushbutton will r eturn the volume to normal level. While muted, the level of both channels will be reduced by -100 dB, regar dless of volume setting. OPERA TION 2-6[...]

DISPLA Y The display brightness may be set to any of 4 brightness levels. T o change the brightness level, press the DISPLA Y pushbutton. “DISPLA Y 100%” will show in the display . Rotate the control until the desired brightness is obtained such as “DISPLA Y 50%.” The number in the display is the relative brightness. After several seconds o[...]

REMOTE CONTROL BA TTERIES A standard small flat blade scr ewdriver is r equired to install the three AAA batteries. T o install batteries in the remote control, it is necessary to separate the two sections. W ARNING: When opened, the pushbutton balls will be loose and care must be taken to properly retain them. It is recommended to lay the remote c[...]

SOURCE SELECTION T o select an input (source) press one of the eight buttons on the left side of the remote control in the ANALOG and DIGIT AL gr oups. Y ou will now be listening to your desired source, and it will be showing in the display . VOLUME, BALANCE and MUTE T o increase the volume, press the button marked with an up arrow . T o reduce, pr[...]

POLARITY NOTE: Often polarity is mistakenly called phase. As phase indicates any angle between two channels from 0 to 360 degrees, the correct term of polarity is preferred to indicate the 180º phase change, or inversion, available in the 1012 DAC Preamplifier . By using the remote control, the polarity of both channels may be changed simultaneous[...]

PROGRAMMING While it is not necessary to ever use any programming functions, you will find they maximize the enjoyment of your Boulder 1012 DAC Preamplifier . Each input has several programmable featur es associated with it. These include assigning an alphanumeric name of your choosing, setting an individual offset attenuation and balance, correcti[...]

If you chose to assign a name, then “A1 ANALOG INPUT 1” will be shown in the bottom display row with a blinking cursor before the name’s first character . Rotate the control until the desired character appears. Press the same input source number to accept the displayed character and go to the next character . Continue in this manner until all[...]

THEA TER MODE When the 1012 pr eamplifier is used in a surround sound theater system, it is normally desired to bypass the volume control, thus letting the surr ound processor control the volume. W ARNING: Setting an input to THEA TER MODE forces the volume to unity gain. Use only in conjunction with a surround processor . Again pr essing the same [...]

INPUT LEVEL CALIBRA TION Pressing the same input source number will make “INPUT LEVEL 0.0dB” show in the bottom display row . Rotating the volume contr ol will change the display and the main outputs’ levels simultaneously . This allows calibration of each input with test tones if desired. For example, setting the display to “-6.0dB” will[...]

INPUT BALANCE CALIBRA TION Pressing the same input source number will make “INPUT BAL CENTERED” show in the bottom display row . Rotating the volume control will simultaneously change the display and the main output’s balance so that the action can be monitored or measured. For example, setting the display to “R -9.0dB” will make the left[...]

PROGRAMMING BY THE DISPLA Y BUTTON Several special featur es ar e programmed by pressing and holding the DISPLA Y pushbutton until the display changes indicating you ar e in a programming mode. If no action is taken for some time, then the 1012 reverts back to normal operation. The sequence is as follows. MAIN OUTPUTS POLARITY The polarity of the m[...]

BOULDERLINK ID Again pressing the DISPLA Y pushbutton will make “PROGRAM BOULDER LINK, BOULDER LINK ID 20” show in the display . Rotating the volume control changes the ID number . For more information consult the Boulderlink section. Unless you are using two or more 1012 DAC Preamplifiers together , this setting should be left at “20.” REM[...]

RESET TO F ACTOR Y DEF AUL TS Should you wish to have all settings reset to original factory defaults, you may execute a master reset. Normally , this function is not used. Press and hold the POWER pushbutton. “RESET ALL P ARAMETERS, DIG 1=YES DIG 2=NO” will show in the display . T o leave all settings as they currently are, press the DIGIT AL [...]

BOULDERLINK Boulderlink is a means of interconnecting most Boulder products so that their microprocessors can talk to each other and pass important information. Among the key features, Boulderlink allows sequential initiation of power amplifiers’ and other products’ power up when the 1012 DAC Preamplifier is turned on. Power amplifiers can send[...]

SETTING BOULDERLINK SWITCHES Every Boulderlink system must have one “MASTER” component, and only one component can be set to MASTER. Usually this is the preamplifier . Power amplifiers and other products not having a MASTER/SLA VE switch are not eligible to be “MASTER.” On the 1012, set the Boulderlink toggle switch to MASTER. SETTING BOULD[...]

POWER UP VIA BOULDERLINK W ith each component connected together with a Boulderlink cable, and individually connected to the mains, pressing the 1012’s POWER pushbutton will initiate the turn on sequence of all components. The first time a “MASTER” 1012 is powered up, it will sear ch for any “slave” units connected to it. As the Master fi[...]

BOULDERLINK MESSAGES Each component in the system can send a message to the 1012 which is then shown on its display . This is particularly helpful in confirming the operating status of each power amplifier in a multiple amplifier system. “AMPLIFIER 1 ERROR” means that an internal power supply has failed and the amplifier has turned itself off t[...]

“UNIT 1 IS OFFLINE” means that the slave is no longer responding via Boulderlink. Its Boulderlink cable may have become disconnected, or the mains power has been disconnected. “UNIT 1 IS ONLINE” means that the slave is now responding via Boulderlink in a normal manner and has been recognized by the master . BOULDER LINK 5-5[...]

RECORDING A separated analog output is provided for making recor dings or supplying a fixed level output to other system components. CONNECTING A RECORDING DEVICE A r ecording device may be connected to the 1012 DAC Pr eamplifier . Y ou may use balanced or unbalanced connections as previously described in the sections on connecting power amplifiers[...]

APPENDIX 7-1 1012 AUDIO BLOCK DIAGRAM 4 DIGITAL AUDIO RECEIVER MODULE BOULDER CUSTOM DSP DIGITAL LOW PASS D/A CONVERTER 6 POLE BESSEL ANALOG LOW PASS 100K OHM BALANCED INPUT BUFFER 200 STEP ATTENUATOR BALANCED OUTPUT BUFFER BALANCED OUTPUT BUFFER 30 DB GAIN LOW NOISE RIAA CURVE PHONO STAGE 10/30 DB SWITCHABLE GAIN BUFFER MAIN OUTPUT RECORD OUTPUT 1[...]

APPENDIX 7-2 BOULDER 1012 DAC PREAMPLIFIER SPECIFICA TIONS DIGIT AL INPUTS Digital Inputs 3 AES/EBU, Adapts to SPDIF (1 DABL Adapter included), 1 T oslink Sampling Rates 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96 kHz, (AES/EBU) Maximum DSP Sample Rate for Future I/F 192 kHz Digital Signal Processor Speed 1 GFLOPS, 167 MHz Clock Decoding System 64 Bit Math, 24 Bit Outp[...]

APPENDIX 7-3 BOULDER 1012 DAC PREAMPLIFIER SPECIFICA TIONS (CTD) Maximum Input Level 6.0 Vrms Maximum Output Level 14.0 V rms THD+N, 2V Output, from 20 Hz to 20 kHz 0.0015% (-96.5 dB) Output loaded with 150Ω Less than 1 dB distortion change, 20 - 10 kHz Maximum V oltage Gain, Line input 20 dB Maximum V oltage Gain, Phono (MM) 60 dB Maximum V oltag[...]

APPENDIX 7-4 TROUBLESHOOTING SYMPTOM CAUSE REMEDY No power indication Preamplifier is not plugged in Connect to an AC outlet Analog source selected, Amber power indication but sound not heard from either channel No signal from source Check source controls, cables and connections No signal to power amplifier Check amplifier power status, cables and [...]

APPENDIX 7-5 NOTES[...]